How to fix bad marketing, bad advertising and bad thinking; the kind that's wasteful, ineffective and has most likely lost a LOT of money for the client, entrepreneur or business owner

Monday, 16 May 2016

Scrap the Elvis-look-a-like marketing

The mad lookalike Elvis leaped on the judges table and started gyrating his hips and voice - just like Elvis.

Or so he thought.

It was only when the Britain's Got Talent Judges - led by Simon Cowell, told the fellow to politely get the hell off the stage, did the Elvis non look-a-like and non sound a-like, know to hit the road, Jack.

That's the problem trying to ape and mimic someone else - unless you get it ditto awesome, is that you'll be in for both ridicule and... a severe pasting.

Not only that; you'll have given up all that was personal and unique to you and your business - your own identity and uniqueness.

And yet, on that same show, another contestant applied his Elvis spin, and his Michael Jackson spin, and his Justin Beiber spin and guess what... not only did his performance have the judges thrilled that they came to work that day, but the audience were left breathless and in awe at what they'd seen - they literally had their breath, taken away by what they'd seen.

And yes, I did, too.

One fellow got the boot for trying too hard to be a copy cat authentic... who won over, no-one. (Read that again)

And the other, found a way to create a unique identity by reinventing the existing authentic.... and had all on their feet in one collective applause (Read THAT one again... multiple times)

Most marketing - most communications - most copywriting is...for most businesses in most industries in most countries -- are nothing but copycat versions of mediocrity.

For example - most communications are soaked in oodles of the 100 most boring verbs in the English language - repetitively.

Oh, and how interesting, because what do you think the NO.1 most committed marketing sin is, everywhere?

Being boring!

Numero Uno Elvis impersonator above got the boot because of (among many things)... being devastatingly boring and un-unique.

He came a cropper because of overlumping too many of those desperately dull, dry-as-toast communication moves in his drab repertoire.

He became a commodity no-one wanted, instantly.

He had ZERO personal unique narrative. He stood for nothing. He became nothing. He got nothing. (Except, the boot)

The same kind of marketing and communication strategies are being employed by too many businesses who have brains, but aren't directing them in a way that has their audiences (target market, current customers and clients) to sit up, wag their tails and demand more of that unique style and experience they crave.

Most are Elvis-ing their communications and service in the same way most do in business. And, they're doing it wastefully and badly.